


25% of Our Final Grade

by lesbianoodle



Series: Drabbles for Davekatweek (2) [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Day Two, Humanstuck, M/M, davekatweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-17 12:13:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8143613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianoodle/pseuds/lesbianoodle
Summary: Karkat just wants Dave to pass Freshman year this time around. Day Two: Cheesy AUs





	

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe one day I will actually flesh this out for now, this is pretty fucking terrible. Tomorrow's is much better.

"So, are you going to get your ass up off the floor and actually help me get some shit done or do I have to remind you that this presentation is worth 25% of our grade? If you get held back again, you're going to be the only one in freshman who can legally drive, Dave. The freshman will make you chauffeur them to all their lame ass parties, while your sophomore friends leave you behind for a better and brighter future. Is that what you want?" 

Dave opens one eye to see if Karkat is serious. "Man, I'd be the sickest freshman in the grade; I would be the stuff of legends. The first freshman to drive everybody in their grade to a totally sick sophomore party and bring the drinks with him. My name would be spoken of only in whispers around the hallways of Skaia High School. Like the story of Hercules, my story would be handed down from mouth to mouth like some orally transmitted disease and-"

"It's 25% of my grade too, asshole." Karkat reminds him, "If I get held back for the first time in my entire life because you couldn't get off your ass and contribute to the project, my dad is going to say you're a bad influence and I'll have to break up with you. Then, you will spend every date night cold and alone with nothing but your left hand."

Dave sits up, suddenly awake. "So, you were saying something about social studies?"

Karkat rolls his eyes. He swears that if it wasn't for him, Dave would have never gotten any further than kindergarten. That was when Dave and him had met for the first time, when they'd both grabbed for the red crayon at the same time and Karkat ended up shouting so loud that some of the other kids started crying. He'd sat angrily in the time-out corner for fifteen minutes and chased down Dave Strider at recess in a rage. He'd punched him hard on the arm, hurt his hand, cried about it, and Dave promised never to tell anyone. And then, they were friends. 

Dave had moved up to elementary school before Karkat, being a little older, and had been one grade ahead for years. Secretly, Karkat had been a little pleased when Dave flunked freshman year the first time around and ended up being in his classes this year. However, it did mean that Karkat was determined to make sure that Dave passed this time around so that they could stay in the same grade from now on. He wanted them to be sophomores together and if that meant revision sessions that lasted well into the night, so be it. 

"The project is for social studies, dumbass. Do you even listen to a single word I say?"

Dave pointedly slips his headphones off and lets them hang around his neck instead, proving Karkat's point without saying a single word. He's been plugged into his music the entire time they've been sitting here and it's so loud that Karkat can hear the music drifting out of his headphones from across the table. How Dave isn't fucking deaf yet and how he's managed to hear most of the conversation is something Karkat will never understand. 

"Right. Social studies. I take social studies?" Dave pretends to look blank. 

Karkat throws a book at his head and Dave bobs out of the way, grinning. The rather disgruntled librarian that has been watching them bicker for the last three hours finally gets up and walks over, demanding that they leave. The bitch had clearly been looking for an excuse to kick them out ever since she spotted them sitting there and Karkat says so, protesting vehemently that they have a right to study here. It's a fucking library. Then, she threatens to call the police if he doesn't keep his volume down and mutters something about teenage hooligans. Dave grabs Karkat's hand and runs, pulling him with him. 

"Dude, she wasn't worth it." Dave says, once they're outside on the sidewalk.

Karkat doubles over, wheezing. "She fucking hated us from the moment we sat down." 

"All old ladies hate teenage boys. It's a war that will never be won." Dave says, solemnly, "Both sides will sacrifice many in vain but in the end, who will truly win?" 

They exchange looks before both of them start laughing. Karkat mutters something about hating him and Dave just shakes his head at him, walking with one arm resting on Karkat's shoulder like he's an arm rest. It makes Karkat feel warm and fuzzy inside.

After that, neither of them are allowed to step foot in the library. Apparently, the bitter librarian had reported their behaviour to somebody important and gotten them into trouble. Nobody contacted their parents- thank god- but they found themselves stopped the next time that they stepped into the library. A different librarian, a younger one this time, told them politely that they weren't allowed to study in here anymore because of disruptive behaviour. Dave asked where the fuck they were supposed to study now, they have a project due Friday. The librarian advises they just study at home. 

And that's how Karkat ends up inviting Dave over to his house for the first time in years. 

"Dude, hasn't your dad redecorated even once since we were kids?" Dave asks, as he treks mud into the hallway and makes Karkat groan. It's been too long since he was over. He's forgotten that Karkat's household actually runs on rules, unlike the Striders' apartment, and that all shoes being removed at the door is rule number one. Karkat just coughs and points at Dave's sneakers until he gets the message and removes them. 

"If we're quiet," Karkat says, "Nobody will notice we're here."

"Is it bad if somebody notices?" Dave nudges him, "Are you ashamed of me or some shit?"

He's joking but when he sees the serious expression on Karkat's face, he looks crestfallen.

"Holy fuck, you are ashamed of me." Dave says, looking surprised, "You're-" 

"I'm not ashamed of you, dumbass." Karkat touches his hand to assure him, "You know that I love spending time with you, as much as I hate to admit it. But you aren't exactly in dad's good books and I don't want him to lecture you on the importance of grades." 

"Already got you for that." Dave squeezes his hand, "Lead the way, Captain Vantas. I'll make sure nobody comes up behind us." 

He puts his hands together to form a "pistol" and presses his back to the wall, pretending to sneak towards the stairs. Karkat rolls his eyes- how can somebody so annoying be so endearing?- and leads the way quietly up the stairs. The hallway is empty of any forms of life, present company excluded, and he's almost sure that Kankri must be out somewhere. His dad will still be at work, he hopes, and Dave can sneak out of the window once they've finished working on their project for the night. 

Karkat's room is at the end of the hallway and he's wary of the floorboards that creak underneath him. He steps carefully but he's far from being light-footed. Each time a floorboard creaks, he cringes and freezes in terror, like he's been caught committing a crime. Eventually, they reach the end of the hallway without incident. Karkat grabs the doorknob, turns it and-

"Hello, Karkat. Hello, David." 

"Shi-" Karkat spins around to find his brother standing behind them. He catches himself before he can swear, which means one less IOU that he'll have to slip into the swear jar. He only gets a five dollar allowance and every week, he blows it on the swear jar within an hour. Paying a little money is worth getting to yell "HOLY SHIT, NOBODY CARES" every time Kankri starts rambling. 

"It's actually Dave." says his stupid boyfriend, "Nobody calls me David." 

"My apologies, David, I didn't realise that I'd offended you." Kankri says, "Most people-"

"Kankri, we're studying." Karkat cuts him off, "Can you give us a little peace and quiet?" 

"Studying?" Kankri eyes them suspiciously, "Well, I suppose that's an acceptable enough reason for a hooligan like him to invade our home. Make sure that you keep the door open."

"Should we also leave enough space for the Holy Sp-" 

Karkat elbows his boyfriend sharply in the ribs so that they don't get a lecture on religion. 

Eventually, Kankri does let them go and Karkat slams the door shut behind him, trying to put that incident behind him as well. He goes to his desk and flips open his textbook to the right page, checking again what they have to do. Dave flops already defeated onto his bed and lies across it, feet hanging off one end and arms dangling off the other. If Karkat didn't love him, he'd be pissed out how casually he was taken this. Instead, he was extremely annoyed. This was 25% of their final grade and Dave needed it badly. 

"Are you going to make me do all the work by myself?" Karkat demands.

Dave promptly drops off the bed and onto the floor, rolling onto his knees and shuffling forward to sit beside Karkat's desk. He took the graph paper and began sketching out the graphs they were meant to supply alongside their presentation meekly. 

"Thanks." Karkat is relieved.

"Don't worry about it, man." Dave replies, "I've got your ass covered on this project, we're going to totally ace it and make Captor and Ampora look like the idiots they are. We're going to be the smartest kids in our entire class. As usual." 

They work side-by-side, quiet aside from the music flowing from Dave's headphones. Sometime around early evening, Karkat asks if he can have a turn and his boyfriend hands them over to him, making him promise not to hurt his babies. Karkat has to turn down the volume several times before he can even think about playing any music. He doesn't want to damage his ears. Dave shuffles through his iPod for him and plays something softer than his usual dubstep. 

Karkat glances at the clock and finds that it's almost seven at night, meaning his dad will be home any time soon and be expecting them to eat dinner together. As a family. His dad goes in for that sappy kind of shit. No friends are allowed to stay for dinner without advanced warning so Karkat yawns, pushes his chair back, and tells his boyfriend that it's time for him to go home. Dave seems disappointed about this. 

"We didn't even get to hang out properly." Dave complains, hauling himself up off the floor, "When you study, you go all quiet and serious and don't talk to me. Why can't we just chill once in a while, Karkat?" 

"Because if we "just chill", you won't get to sophomore year." Karkat says, as he stands up and stretches his arms out; his hands ache from non-stop scribbling in his messy handwriting, pressing down so hard that he nearly tears holes in the page, "And I really don't want to leave you behind." 

Dave nods. "I don't exactly want to be bested by my super smart boyfriend either." 

He's kidding. Karkat can tell because he's trying not to laugh and he takes advantage of the opportunity and grabs Dave by the sides, where he's his most ticklish. A started Dave attempts to squirm away but ends up stumbling and laughing hysterically, as Karkat tickles him in his softest spot. He tries to escape but he just ends up falling backwards onto the bed and Karkat pounces on him, tickling him relentlessly. It's a game that Karkat will always win because he isn't ticklish at all and Dave can't do anything about it. Dave's laugh is also adorable. 

"Oh my god." Dave is trying to wriggle free, gasping for breath between laughs, "Karkat! Please have mercy on me! Please!"

"Admit that you're just as smart as me." Karkat demands.

"What the fuck, man?" Dave tries to stop laughing. It is fruitless as his attempts to escape. 

"You're always saying you're dumber than me. Admit you're actually an smartass. I know you are, Dave, I've heard that philosophical bullshit you spit in your sick rhymes." 

"Alright, alright." Dave wipes tears of laughter from behind his shades, "I'm just as smart as you." 

And then, Karkat relents and stops tickling him. Dave is still chuckling for half an hour afterwards. 

It's the night before their project and they're at Dave's place, a small apartment in the middle of the city that looks as if it's mainly inhabited by puppets. Karkat has been round Dave's place before and he knows about the puppets- but that doesn't make it any less terrifying when he opens the door to the bathroom and one drops on his head. Dave has to calm him down then or Karkst might have stormed home in a frantic fit of anger and fear. Bro is fucking insane, Karkat is sure of it. Somehow, Dave manages to keep Karkat from losing his voice screaming. 

After that terrifying incident, they're both sitting in their respective places. Two chairs at the table, pushed up close together, so that every time they write, they bump shoulders- they write with opposing hands. The situation could be resolved if they switched seats but Dave thinks it's cute or something. Karkat doesn't argue. 

"I don't want to leave you behind either." Dave says, "Not by moving up grades or some shit, we know I ain't gonna overtake you academically when you work so hard. But I mean... In life. I don't want to lose you."

It's so out-of-nowhere that Karkat is stunned silent.

"Where the fuck did that sentimental shit come from?" He demands, once he's regained the power of speech, and he turns to face Dave. 

"I don't know, bro. I've just been thinking about it since you started talking about becoming sophomores soon." Dave shrugs. 

"Don't you "bro" me, Dave Strider." Karkat pokes him with a pen, "I'm so much more than a bro to you and you fucking know it." 

"Yeah, I know." Dave pokes him back. 

Needless to say, it's not long after that Dave suggests a break and they retire to the couch to play one of the old, glitchy video games Dave keeps around. None of them are in very good shape because Dave doesn't know how to take care of his belongings. Either that or they've met the unfortunate fate of being ran through with Bro's sword, (Karkat doesn't even want to know what Donkey Kong did to deserve that). Time drifts away. 

Karkat forgets sometimes that breaks are important. But Dave reminds him. 

He's always Player Two and he leans against Dave while they play, his head resting on his shoulder as he stares at the TV. He almost drifts off to sleep, he's in such a relaxed state. 

They finish the project last minute the morning before but pass anyway.


End file.
